Is autumn Christmastime for beer lovers? Maybe. It’s anxiously awaited: Retailers rush the season (“Bring Pumking to the pool party!”), and with Oktoberfest and gourd-adjacent concoctions, gifts are plentiful. And so are celebrations. Oktoberfest began in Bavaria in 1810 as an adjunct to a royal wedding. But popular demand brought the fest back most years, with some cancellations due to war, cholera, German financial collapse, more war and Covid-19. Munich is Oktoberfest central, but it’s a worldwide party, with fests in Namibia, New Delhi, Manila and many other locations, including Pittsburgh.As for pumpkin beer: Its provenance is apparently all-American. Pumpkin, with its fermentable sugars, was a handy substitute for barley. George Washington had his own pumpkin beer recipe, though according to one source, it consisted of pumpkin pulp and hops – definitely not as tasty as the pie-in-a-glass we enjoy today.Over the next few weeks, it’ll be pumpkin beer (and creative variations thereof) and Marzen and bratwurst almost everywhere you look. Here’s what some of our favorite places are planning:Tattoo artist Dooner Sadauskas, center, joins head brewer Chris Carr, left, and owner Jason Short, right, to consult on label art for Abstract Realm’s pumpkin beer, Wicked Gourd. Photo courtesy of Abstract Realm Brewing.Abstract Realm – Their Oktoberfest happens Sept. 20-22, with music, food and games. Abstract Realm collaborated with Hazel Grove and Late Addition on Drei Brauer (Three Brewers), a traditional Marzen. They’ll also be offering Wicked Gourd, an English Brown pumpkin ale.Allegheny City Brewing – The North Side brewery is in the heart of the old city of Allegheny, settled by German immigrants and annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. OFest, their seasonal beer, is on tap now, with a dunkel to be released later in the fall. On Sept. 28, there’s a third-anniversary party with festivities at both locations, 507 Foreland St. and 510 East Ohio St., and the alley in between, along with a cookie table.Brew Gentlemen – They’re mixing it up a little for fall with White Sky, a chai-flavored brew made  with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves and black peppercorn. Try it at the tasting room and Braddock Public House, whose grand opening is Sept. 21.East End Brewing’s Harvest Big Hop was just named Best Fall Seasonal Beer in a USA Today readers poll. Photo courtesy of East End Brewing. East End Brewing – Here’s an absurdist twist from (not surprisingly) East End: “pumpkin beer” without pumpkin. Nunkin is a spiced ale with all the good stuff – cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. – and none of the orange stuff. Over the last few years, Scott Smith and crew have been barrel-aging, this year in rum and rye barrels. Their Harvest Big Hop was just named Best Fall Seasonal Beer in a USA Today readers poll, and their Oktoberfest brew is available at both the Larimer and Mt. Lebanon locations.Golden Age Beer – Lagers, dunkels and kolsches are part of the everyday tap list at Golden Age, which specializes in classic German beers. Owners Pete and Matt Kurzweg, whose father is from Germany, along with head brewer Aaron Dahl, are passionate about getting the styles right. Not surprisingly, Oktoberfest is a big deal there.Golden Age’s fest starts on Sept. 20, the same day as in Munich, and continues through Oct. 6. There’ll be four new beers, including the traditional Marzen, a rauchbier with malts roasted over smoke and a festbier. Golden Age has also collaborated with Tröegs on a festweizen, a festival wheat beer  “you can drink a lot of,” Pete Kurzweg says. They’re making their own bratwurst and German potato salad, as well as a flammkuchen (a kind of German pizza with creme fraiche, bacon, onions and gruyere cheese.) There’s live music planned for Fridays and Saturdays too.Hazel Grove – In addition to their Marzen collaboration with Abstract Realm and Late Addition, Hazel Grove will be offering a pumpkin pie blonde ale and a vanilla pumpkin porter. Brewer/co-owner Steve Hartman notes that their American brown ale is giving fall vibes too.Inner Groove – They’ll have two pumpkin beers on tap: Hallowed Ground and Pumpkin-chino, a coffee pumpkin ale. Both will be released, along with pumpkin cocktails, on Sept. 27 at the Verona location. You’ll have a chance to splatter paint a glow-in-the-dark pumpkin too.Love, Katie Distilling is featuring a pumpkin martini and pumpkin caffè this fall. Photo courtesy of Katie Sirianni.Love, Katie Distilling – Katie Sirianni’s pumpkin martini, made with vodka, pumpkin puree, half and half and spices, is back by popular demand. There’s also a Pumpkin Patch Caffè, with coffee liqueur and pumpkin cold foam. Love, Fallfest, a seasonal party, happens Sept. 28.“Dying on the Vine,” a Pumpkin ale with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove from New France Brewing Co., is now on tap. Photo courtesy of New France.New France – Look for Gemütlichkeit, an Oktoberfest lager, and Dying on the Vine, a pumpkin ale, currently on tap.Penn Brewery – Ever since it opened in 1987, Penn Brewery has honored traditional German styles, with pilsners, weizens and helles on their year-round draft list. Not surprisingly, they go large for Oktoberfest. The celebration starts Sept. 20 and runs on weekends through Oct. 6, with a VIP firkin-tapping party happening tonight. In addition to their Oktoberfest, they’ve made Potato S’Mash, a kartoffelbier (German potato beer) with potatoes sourced from the Potato Patch stash at Kennywood, and a pumpkin shandy made with Soergel’s Orchards pumpkins. Both will be released in early October.Two Frays – An Oktoberfest Marzen is currently on tap, with a pumpkin sour going up on Sept. 24. Head brewer Lauren Hughes says they’ll release a chocolate orange porter on Sept. 26, with a schwarzbier and scotch ale for the colder months, coming in November.Truss – Their new collaboration with the Legendary Hucklebucks, a local Pittsburgh band, is on tap now. It’s a porter called “Worst Band Ever,” because that’s the Hucklebucks’ tagline. (They’re really not.) A seasonal yam beer, Yam Dandy, comes out soon.Sweet Taters & Spice, a seasonal sweet potato and coffee latte ale, is on tap at Velum Fermentation. Photo courtesy of Velum Fermentation. Velum Fermentation – Sweet Taters & Spice, a latte-inspired ale, is on tap now. Co-owner Jenna McLaughlin says sweet potatoes have more sugars than pumpkin and create a “caramel and marshmallow pie vibe” as they caramelize. Traditional spices and lots of Commonplace Coffee are in the mix as well. Wye Beer – Like Hazel Grove, Abstract Realm and New France, Wye is celebrating its first Oktoberfest, with an Oktoberfest beer and Hallertau Hallo, a German pilsner. Pumpky Brewster, its Gen X-callout pumpkin ale, is on tap too.The post Pumpkin beer, Oktoberfest and fall ales you’ve got to try in Pittsburgh appeared first on NEXTpittsburgh.